Anxiety and paranoia are often talked about in similar ways. However, they are not the same thing. As a college student, you may be unsure of how to categorize your thoughts and feelings. If you think you may be experiencing anxiety or paranoia, seeking treatment is important. A licensed clinical therapist can help identify your symptoms and provide personalized treatment.

Learning more about anxiety and paranoia can help you differentiate between the two conditions. By staying informed about your mental health symptoms, you can take a more active role in your treatment journey as you work toward relief.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a word used in multiple ways. Sometimes it just means a feeling of worry, nervousness or dread. Anxiety can also refer to anxiety disorders, which are a category of diagnosable mental health conditions. Anxiety in all forms is on the rise. The American Psychiatric Association’s 2024 annual mental health poll found that 43% of adults report feeling more anxious than they did the year before. Common causes of anxiety reported include current events like economic turmoil and political elections. Feeling anxious on occasion is to be expected. This does not mean you have an anxiety disorder. If your anxiety is severe and persistent, however, it may be indicative of a deeper condition.

Common signs of an anxiety disorder include racing thoughts and difficulty concentrating. You may even experience physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating and dizziness. If you have an anxiety disorder, managing your symptoms is important. A licensed clinical therapist can help you develop relaxation and anxiety management skills. With specialized treatment, you can also directly address the underlying causes behind your anxiety. By addressing the core processes that led to your anxiety, you can improve your condition and experience lasting relief.

What is paranoia?

Paranoia refers to the feeling that someone or something is out to get you. Someone who is paranoid may be distrustful and suspicious of most other people. If you’re experiencing paranoia, you might feel like you’re constantly on guard. While anxiety can also put you on edge, the reason for the behavior is different. Anxiety often involves worry about the present and future in a broad sense. Paranoia, however, tends to involve more specific fears. Someone with paranoia may be on guard because they believe their friends plan to steal from them, for example. Paranoia is a key aspect of mental health conditions like paranoid personality disorder and schizophrenia, where paranoid delusions may be present.

Do anxiety and paranoia go hand in hand?

Anxiety and paranoia do not always go hand in hand. However, they are sometimes connected. Paranoia often comes with anxiety, but anxiety isn’t always linked with paranoia. If you experience paranoia, you may constantly worry about how other people might be judging you or plotting against you. This worry is a kind of anxiety. People with paranoia often experience some form of social anxiety, as any social situation may be perceived as threatening.

What conditions involve anxiety and paranoia?

When anxiety and paranoia mix, these symptoms can be difficult to manage. If you have paranoia and anxiety, it’s important to seek treatment as soon as possible. Some conditions that may involve anxiety and paranoia include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — PTSD develops in response to trauma. PTSD can develop as the result of continuous trauma or a single traumatic event. One of the signature symptoms of PTSD is hypervigilance. This is a constant state of heightened alertness. A person with PTSD may believe that being hypervigilant is necessary to protect themselves. They may become suspicious of people they observe while hypervigilant, taking any action as a potentially threatening act. Hypervigilance is often connected to both anxiety and paranoia. Hypervigilance involves being excessively alert to potential dangers, which can increase anxiety levels. While it may lead to mistrust in certain situations, it’s different from paranoia, which involves irrational and persistent beliefs about being targeted or persecuted. If you have PTSD, processing your trauma with professional treatment can be key to addressing your symptoms.
• Bipolar disorder — Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder involving extreme shifts in mood and energy levels. Bipolar disorder symptoms tend to come in manic and depressive cycles. During a manic cycle, you may feel full of energy, frantic and impulsive. During a depressive cycle, you may experience persistent low moods and feel drained of energy. Bipolar disorder often involves anxiety, and sometimes leads to paranoia as well. Someone with bipolar disorder may, at times, feel like they’re being persecuted or watched by others. This can lead to hypervigilance and defensiveness in social interactions. Getting treatment may help reduce symptoms and challenge paranoid delusions.
• Schizophrenia — Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder that can impact the way you experience reality. Key schizophrenia symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms can make it difficult to know what’s real. The delusions that come with schizophrenia can include many paranoid beliefs. These might include the belief that you are being monitored or the belief that someone else is controlling your mind. The hallucinations refers to believing something is there when it isn’t. Medication and psychotherapy can be vital to managing schizophrenia symptoms.

Lightfully U can help you work through symptoms of anxiety or paranoia

If you’re experiencing symptoms of anxiety or paranoia, Lightfully U is here to help you find relief. Everything we do is based on evidence and a compassionate, whole-person-centered approach. With our help, you can manage your symptoms and improve your mental wellness.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to get treatment for your anxiety or paranoia, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.